A Promise and The Price it Carries
by Asianboy001
Summary: Naruto has made many promises and kept them all but one. However, to keep this promise he had to pay the pipper. Was the gain worth the loss?
1. Prologue

I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story besides the new sound nins

**Prologue **

**I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story besides the new sound nins.**

**I apologize for any OOC-ness**

**THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE! Just and edit so I can fix some problems with the plot.**

Out in the forest, away from the closest city and from prying eyes a group of people dressed in black cloaks had gathered. Some members of the group held torches to ward away the darkness of night. The faces of the gathered, even with the light provided by the torches, was not enough to pierce the shadows produced by the hoods of their cloaks that covered their faces. Likewise, it was impossible to tell the gender or gleam any information as to who each figure was or how many were there.

The remaining people were spread out mingling in small groups, some just stood together and others appeared to be in deep conversation. Others moved from cluster to cluster of people lingering for a few seconds then proceeding to the next group. Three more figures materialized out of the gloom. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at the new comers. No show of acknowledgement was shown towards the newcomers. No words were spoken nor were any signals made, as one all of the robbed people turned and strode deeper into the forest.

The group continued to walk ever deeper into the woods. The shadows cast by the trees seemed to almost drown out the light from the moon. Along with the light, it seemed as if the shadows also smothered the very thought of life and happiness, a stark contrast to the vibrant colors and show of life the forest normally displayed in the day. The crowd of people emerged into an open area. The ones who were holding torches put then into the stands and illuminated the area. The light revealed that in the center of the open glad was a thin slab of white marble. On top of the marble was the body of a man. His hands were clasped together, lying on his abdomen. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully with a hint of a smile on his lips. The group formed a rough semi-circle around the marble. As one they reached into the sleeves of their clocks to get some thing. A little glint of white could be barely being seen underneath the fabric. Only one didn't, that person stood in the middle of the semi-circle, their hands clasped together head bowed.

An onlooker would have easily assumed that this was some kind of clandestine meeting to discuss something with harmful or evil intent towards the person laid out on the marble. In some ways, to some people they were.

**Ok, you will have to wait for the last chapter to find out who are in the cloaks and who is on the marble slab. This is because I will tell the story leading up to the ending and show how the prologue connects the epilogue. You can guess all you want to, I won't tell you even if you are right. Oh this will make a lot more sense when I finish the story too.**

**Don't expect quick updates. I am in college and that eats up a lot of time.**

**Parings are subject to change, or if you really want certain couples to be together tell me.**

**Please rate and review.**


	2. Painful Memories

I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story besides the new sound nins I introduce later. 

Italics _thoughts_ (Talking in there head or Naruto talking to Kyuubi)

Side note: yes I have read the most recent manga chapter and I know that Sasuke has basically trapped/destroyed Orochimaru and that Orochimaru's body was failing him.  
Also, I am aging them a bit for a few reasons.  
1. It fits my story better.  
2. If I owned the series they would be older anyways.  
3. This provides enough time for certain events to make sense, which I will explain in later chapters.  
4. Gives time for naruto and company to advance in rank.

* * *

The sun slowly rose up from the horizon, bathing Konohagakure in its bright glow. As the sunlight crept up the Hokage monument a single figure stood on the top overlooking the village. The person's fists were on his planted on his hips and his face displayed his inner sense of peace and contentment. As he stood there, another set of arms threaded through his arms and wrapped around his waist pulling him into a hug.

"Good morning Naruto-kun."

Naruto turned around, draping his arms around his lover, "Morning Hinata-chan." Both of them turned towards the rising sun with one of Naruto's arms around Hinata's waist and her head resting on his shoulder. They stood there, silently enjoying the moment and each others company.

"Naruto-kun, what are you thinking about?" asked Hinata breaking the silence.

"...nothing."

Hinata caught the hesitation in his voice. She lifted her head up and looked at Naruto, "Are you sure? Is there anything bothering you Naruto-kun?"

Naruto quickly put his mask on and turned his head to look down at Hinata, "No Hinata, life is pretty much perfect." Naruto said. To emphasize his point he flashed his trade mark smile at her, then leaned down, took her chin in his hand and kissed her on the lips. After they broke the kiss Hinata dropped her gaze to the ground, her face flushed red. Naruto just laughed at this thinking _'some things never change'_.

While Hinata's blushing habits hadn't changed the couple had physically changed a lot over the past one and a half years. Naruto had grown much taller; he now stood at 6 foot even. His hair had grown out a little so it ended at the bottom of his ears. Naruto's whisker marks had faded a little bit with time but where still visible. Above them were his bright blue eyes, that still held the same glow of warmth and happiness that they always had. Also, he wasn't the scrawny kid he used to be either. His chest had widened and overall he was more muscular. His clothing had changed too, mainly because of prodding by his team mates and Hinata.

Naruto wore a black Chunin vest that had the Konoha symbol in red on the back while on the shoulders he had his trade mark swirl in orange. Underneath was a thin green long sleeve shirt. He also had on some loose fitting black paints. His headband's cloth had once again been replaced but this time, instead of black, the color was orange

**A/N: think the symbol he had on his back when he wore the orange jump suit.**

Hinata had her fair number of changes too. Through the years Hinata had transformed from a little girl to a lithe young women. Her figure over all had become more feminine, adding curves and all. Her chest had also expanded plus she had grown to about 5'8''. Hinata had let her hair grow so that it fell down to the small of her back. Her most distinguishing feature was still her eyes. Her eyes were full of compassion and their color was pale lavender. But they did not have a pupil, which showed her Hyuuga heritage.

Hinata's clothes had changed along with her figure as well. Sakura and Naruto, well mainly Sakura, had convinced Hinata to abandon her sweater and wear something that showed off her figure. Even though she had agreed, Hinata still dressed modestly with a loose fitting navy-blue jacket that she wore open with a plain, white t-shirt underneath. Lastly, she had on light blue pants on.

Bring his thoughts back to the present; Naruto continued to stare out over the village dropping his mask and showing a big, genuine smile. How could he not? In truth just about everything was perfect. He was well on his way to being the Hokage after all he had achieved the rank of Jounin. Next, he had fulfilled his promise to Sakura and brought Sasuke back freed from his cursed seal. Lastly, and most importantly, he had someone who loved him with all her heart and Naruto loved Hinata just as much if not more.

"Hinata-chan" Hinata's head snapped up at the mentioning of her name, "What are you thinking about?"

Hinata's blush became even more pronounced but instead of looking at the ground she put her head back on Naruto's shoulder answering, "Us Naruto-kun and ..." Hinata's voice faded.

"Us and what Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto

"The mission" replied Hinata sadly

Naruto"s back tensed, "Which one?"

Noticing his tension Hinata looked up at Naruto, "The first one, why?"

Naruto turned his head towards Hinata's confused face, "Just asking."

Hinata had watched naruto ever since their days in the academy because she had always secretly liked him. However, she was too shy to say anything to Naruto about it and it didn't help that Naruto was completely ignorant of it.

Eventually he did recognize the feelings that Hinata had for him but not until he had gone through a dramatic event.

_**

* * *

**_

Naruto and company had intercepted Sasuke and his team Hebi. Sasuke was still recovering from injuries and was on his way to fight his brother Itachi. The Konoha nins caught up to team Hebi and Naruto saw this as a prime opportunity to bring back Sasuke and fulfill his promise to Sakura. Kakashi ordered the nin-dogs to surround the area to alert him if any members of Akatsuki showed up and to intervene on his say so. Naruto and Sakura took on Sasuke, Hinata and Shino took on Karin, Kakashi and Yamoto faced off against Suigetsu and Sai and Kiba tried to handle Jugo. However not everything went as planned. Kisame, who was looking for Itachi, stumbled upon the fight between the two groups. Kakashi's Nin dogs weren't nearly enough to hold him back. This resulted in Kakashi and Yamato having to duel Kisame while, Kiba took over for the two against Suigetsu. After the mix up of targets it went down hill from there. "So is this all Konoha could send? A little girl and a sunglass wearing freak?!" taunted Karin. _Great the girl is a member of the Hyuuga clan. I have to stay away from her. That boy...something is wrong about him. His chakra is constantly moving around. That shouldn't be possible!  
_

"Hinata, distract her." whispered Shino

"Hai" answered Hinata

Hinata slid into the classic Hyuuga fighting stance and charged Karin. Karin responded by throwing a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it in front of Hinata. She jumped back to avoid the explosion while Karin used the smoke and debris to jump into a near by tree to hide.

Karin knew that the Hyuuga could see through the tree but she need time to think up a strategy. She wasn't given the time however as Shino appeared next to her and through a punch aimed at her head. She dodged the punch and retaliated with an uppercut of her nailing Shino in the gut. While Shino sank to one knee holding his stomach, Karin raised both of her hands to do a two-handed hammer strike to the back of his head. Hinata crashed through the tree's branches, catching Karin off guard and hit her with an open palm thrust to the chest. Karin sailed through the air but managed to flip herself before she hit the ground and landed on her feet. Hinata, along with the recovered Shino, hopped down to the forest floor.

"Ha! Is that all the power you have? I thought the Hyuuga clan was strong. Perhaps your nothing but a black sheep of the family!" yelled out Karin. _Shit! That Hyuuga is strong. Mmm...the boy seems weak at close range combat, perhaps that's why he is paired with her. Wait, what's this?! I have some of the boy's chakra on me and it's moving all over the forest!_

"Hinata deactivate your Byakugan."

"OK...if you say so."

"Don't under estimate me kiddies. You have no idea what I am capable of!" with that Karin once again dashed into the trees for cover.

"Do not worry about finding her Hinata. I planted a female bug on her. Now, my bugs should be more then enough to take care of her." Shino spoke

"Oh really, you wouldn't happen to mean this bug would you?" Karin sarcastically replied as she dropped out of the trees about three meters away from the pair. In between her thumb and her index finger was a small black bug. "I see now. You planted a bug on me when you faked your 'missed' punch. That means you must be one of the bug users from Konoha, the Aburame clan if I am not mistaken."

"So you know of use then" replied Shino

"I know of your clan's specialty" retorted Karin, "That explains why I can sense your chakra moving around. It's not your chakra but your bugs that are slowly circling around me to try and capture me. But it appears that they need this female bug to track." Karin smashed the bug in-between her fingers, "Problem solved"

The trio stared at each other, Hinata and Shino on one side and Karin on the other side.

A shriek pierced through air, "KIBA!"

Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped, "S-Shino, Kiba is hurt, badly!"

Shino lifter his left arm and pointed in Kiba's direction. Even though you couldn't see it, he never took his eyes off his opponent, "Go help him Hinata. I will take care of her."

"Hai"

"Hahaha, you fool! I know about you and your bugs. Do you truly think you can win now?!" laughed Karin.

"Yes, I will win against you." Shino calmly replied as he charged Karin.

* * *

**I didn't like writing this chapter because I know almost nothing about Karin's abilities. So I had to adlib a lot.**

**Please rate and review Flames are welcome just add on something to help me improve Thanks**

**P.S. I don't have a Beta so if anyone is interested please tell me.**


	3. Sai vs Jugo

**I don't own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story besides the new sound nins I introduce later.**

**Italics thoughts (Talking in there head or Naruto talking to Kyuubi)**

**Anyone who is reading the manga will understand what Jugo piston arm looks likes. If you don't think Big O's arms, if you haven't seen that, it sucks to be you.**

* * *

Sai stood in front of Jugo in a defensive position, eyeing up his opponent. Jugo cocked his head quizzically to the right, "Why do you wish to fight?" 

Sai's expression did not change from his fake smile but he was caught off guard by such a blunt question.

"Why do you wish to fight us?" repeated Jugo, "We are simply on our way to kill Uchiha Itachi. Isn't that one of your goals as well?"

"Yes, it is one of our objectives. However the retrieval of Sasuke comes first." Answered Sai, "And how did you know about our objectives?"

A raven landed on Jugo's shoulder, "Simple, my friend told me." Jugo pointed to the raven. He activated his enzymes and whispered to the bird. When he was done the raven took off and flew back into the forest.

"What did you tell him?" inquired Sai

"To leave this place, it will be dangerous here when Sasuke-sama starts to fight." sighed Jugo, ⌠I do not wish to fight but if your objective is to interfere with Sasuke-sama's goal then I will not let you pass." sighed Jugo

"Then I have nothing more to say."

Jugo took a breath and activated his body's enzymes. He hated to do this but he would not let anything stop Sasuke and besides he knew that Sasuke could handl;e him if he went out of control. Cursed seal markings emerged all over his body as Jugo's mind became unstable and sank into his berserker state.

"hehehe...a little boy, I WILL KILL YOU!" screamed Jugo as he sprinted towards Sai.

Sai brought out his paper and paint brush, drew a picture of a bird and a few triggers and brought them to life through his chakra. Sai jumped on top of his bird and flew out of range of Jugo while he watched his tigers battle Jugo. They circled Jugo looking for a weakness or an opportunity to attack. However they were beaten to the punch as Jugo jumped into the air and tried to land flying kick on one of the tigers. The tiger dodged but the force of the kick caused a small creator in the ground. Seeing the monstrous strength of Jugo, Sai ordered his creations into the forest.

"RUN ALL YOU WANT! I WILL STILL KILL YOU!" Jugo leaped after his targets, chasing after them into the woods. When he lost sight of them, he stopped and whipped his head around wildly, "COME OUT I THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO FIGHT?!"

"Don't worry Jugo we will." With that one of the tigers leapt on to Jugo's back and proceeded to claw him. Jugo reach behind him and grabbed the tiger by its neck. He extends his arm out with the ink tiger's neck in his grasp and all the while the tiger thrashed and clawed his arm, trying to break free. Jugo crushed its neck and the tiger disintegrated into ink. Two more tigers sprint towards Jugo on his right and left. He simple smiles and transforms his right arm into a large blade and runs to his right. The tiger jumps straight at him. Jugo performs an uppercut with his blade arm, cleanly splitting the tiger down the middle. After his swing finishes he turns around swinging his arm to decapitate the other tiger. The last tiger makes a beeline for Jugo. Again he simple stand there, but instead Jugo reverts his right arm back to normal and his left arm changes into a larger version, adorned with spikes and a piston like cylinder on the coming out the back of his arm. He cocks his arm back and nails the tiger in the face with his punch. The tiger flew back on a ballistic course for a tree. On impact the beast returned back to nothing more then ink.

Sai had abandoned his aerial mount and watched the whole thing while under cover. He seems so different now that he has activated his cursed seal. This must be what Naruto and Sakura mentioned when they said Sasuke's cursed seal drove him mad. Crazy or not he seems to be rather skilled at close range and those transforming arms of his could be a problem.

As Sai pondered about the best course of action, Jugo was busy trying to find his location by using his piston arm to create shock waves in the ground, uproot the trees. By chance he managed to uproot the tree Sai was in. Jugo did not realize this and turned to bring down another tree. Sai used the falling leaves and dirt as a smoke screen to get closer to Jugo. When he was in range Sai unsheathed his short katana and charged Jugo. Sai was too fast for Jugo to transform and bring his blade arm up so he had to defend with his piston arm. Even with Sai's momentum generated from his speed, Jugo managed to stop him cold. Jugo pushed back with even more force, forcing Sai back by about five feet. He charged yet again, this time slicing horizontally, aiming to cut Jugo across the chest. Once again Jugo blocked but with his blade and immediately retaliated with a punch from his left. Sai ducked and back flipped to get some space between the two. Sai put down his Katana and pulled out his ink and scroll. Instead of using beast, Sai painted two warrior looking paints that were armed with swords like his.

"MORE INK CREATURES, THEY WILL HAVE TO DIE JUST LIKE YOU!" howled Jugo

The three swordsmen attacked Jugo relentlessly. Two would attack, forcing Jugo to defend with both arms while the third went for the opening. As for how strong and powerful Jugo was he could not keep up with all three attackers. His body had many slash marks all over his upper body.

_I have to turn this around or I might lose! No I can not even think like that, I will kill this worm._ A warrior approached from his right weapon raised, ready to attack. Instead of defending Jugo lunged towards it and through a punch. The warrior skidded to a halt and held up his sword with two hands so the flat side blocked the punch. The fist collided with the warrior's sword, appearing to block Jugo's blow. That was when he smirked, the piston part of his arm extended and immediately lowered. The resulting shockwave shattered the sword and propelled the warrior into a fallen tree, impaling him on a branch. The warrior slowly lost its shape and melted into ink. Jugo turned around to see the remaining warrior and Sai standing ready to continue their deadly dance when a shriek pierced through air, "KIBA!"

Sai turned his head towards the direction it came from. _Maybe I should have taken on the other one with the large sword. I will have to finish this quickly to go dig Kiba out of his hole. I wonder if this is constitutes as a 'bond of friendship'?_ Sai once again put on a fake smile and focused on his immediate objective: subdue or eliminate Jugo.

* * *

**Man I wish I knew all of Jugo's powers and all of Sai's jutsus.  
Anyway please rate and review And yes I realize I have not finished this or the last fight and I haven't gotten to Kiba yet. I know I am working on it. Besides it will all pull together in about 2-3 chapters.**


	4. One by One

I don't own Naruto or anything affiliated with the series. Also for any OOC-ness and any AU. Remember this is my story and it will clash with the events in the manga. 

Italicsthoughts (In characters' head or Naruto talking to Kyuubi)

Well, this chapter has some interesting things in it. As has been mentioned in other chapters Kiba gets into trouble. I hope I made the strengths appropriate for the fights. Also, at the end of this chapter I will have to explain the progression of events. Any way on with the story.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Clad in their black cloaks, Sasuke and Suigetsu stood in front of Kiba, Akamaru, Sakura and Naruto clad in their white cloaks. Both sides stared down the opposing side, measuring abilities and looking for weak spots. Kiba and Akamaru understood that Naruto and Sakura would fight Sasuke and the other ninja next to him was his. Kiba only spared Sasuke a brief glance, proceeding to lock eyes with the other fighter. The person across from him showed no emotion on his face or in his eyes. The boy shifted his gaze, focusing on a growling Akamaru. The boy's mouth shifted into a grin, showing off his shark like teeth. The boy pointed at Akamaru, "How much for the puppy?"

"His name is Akamaru! And he's not for sale." Growled Kiba with Akamaru barking in reinforcement

"Oh, so how do I get to keep him then?"

"Over my dead, body shark bastard!" Kiba growled

A cold, murderous glint shown in his eyes as he undid the clasp to his cloak and reached behind him to grasped his swords handle, "I will take that under advisement dog boy."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The members, both former and present, of Team 7 ignored the exchange between Kiba and Suigetsu. Sasuke had not activated his Sharingan so Sakura and Naruto dared to look him in the eye. Sakura stared intently in his eyes, searching them, hoping to find something, anything that could prove that even a small part of Sasuke was still there from the years before. Her search was in vain, only the dark glare of malice, the cold, indifferent frown plastered on his face and the enormous, smothering, killer intent.

Naruto knew from Sasuke"s stance and the look in his eyes that he would not come quietly. Somewhere deep in his heart Naruto wished and prayed that he would, but in the back of his mind he knew that it was just a wish, an unattainable wish.

"Please Sasuke-kun! Come back to Konoha, to us! To me!" pleaded Sakura. Her begging fell on uncaring ears. Not even receiving acknowledgement from Sasuke.

Suigetsu leaned in and whispered mockingly in Sasuke's ear, "It looks like Karin has some competition, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke replied with a barely audible "humph".

Sasuke turned around, "Suigetsu take care of them." With that he Shunshined out of sight. Naruto wasn't able to see him but he did feel which way his chakra signature went. Suigetsu's grin shifted into a full fledge smile, "Sweet, I get to have more fun."

Naruto knew that the longer he stayed here the harder it would be to catch Sasuke. Naruto glanced at his fellow ninja to evaluate them. Kiba and Akamaru could be useful in tracing down Sasuke but neither of them could fight at his level. Naruto mentally scratched that possibility. Next he considered Sakura. She was strong and a suburb medical ninja, but like Kiba she couldn't keep up with Sasuke's raw ability. Naruto knew that there was no way he could bring Sasuke back without using force. While Sakura wanted to bring him home, Naruto doubted that she would seriously hurt Sasuke to accomplish that. For better or for worse Naruto made up his mind, "Sakura stay here with Kiba."

"What?!" Sakura deadpanned and stared at Naruto. She subconsciously registered the lack of chan but was not acknowledged.

"I am going after Sasuke...alone." Naruto threw a look at Kiba.

Kiba knew his reasons and, like last time, understood. Kiba nodded, "You got it."

Sakura frantically looked between the two guys, "Why can't I come with you?!"

"Sakura could you beat Sasuke to an inch of his life?" inquire Naruto as he meet her questioning eyes.

"Naruto..." Sakura answered a little taken back by the question.

"Could you!" yelled Naruto

"W...what are you talking about?" stuttered Sakura

Naruto softly growled his response, "Answer me"

"No" Sakura whispered. Her eyes never left Naruto's. She saw what was in his eyes. They glittered like blue steel showing his resolve. But something lurked behind that, something that she couldn't quite place. She lowered her head in shame, unable to acknowledge the truth about the situation. Naruto put his hand on her shoulder, "Sakura three years ago I promised to bring him back. I intend to fulfill that promise even if I have to use it."

Alarm bells went off inside Sakura's head as she snapped her head up, eyes wide staring Naruto square. Naruto swore that he would never use the Kyuubi's power! So why is he talking like that? That was when it clicked. Before the thing she couldn't for the life of her name when she looked in Naruto's eyes. It wasn't that she hadn't seen in before, in fact she had. When Naruto first promised her that he would bring Sasuke back it was there, his resolve burned brightly. But this time it was different. The brilliance was still there but tainted. Naruto would do his best and then some to bring Sasuke back to her┘even at the cost of his own life. Naruto saw the recognition in her eyes. He let go of her shoulder and turned in the direction of Sasuke's retreating chakra signature. Sakura could only watch as he prepared to leave, possibly for the last time.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered. Naruto turned to look over his shoulder. Sakura found her voice, "Promise you won't die"

Naruto gave a sad smile, "Sorry Sakura. That's one promise I can't make." Naruto looked one more time at Kiba and nodded his head. Kiba nodded back. Naruto jumped after Sasuke.

"Sorry to break up this touching scene, but die!" Suigetsu moved after Naruto with his Zambato, ready to slice him in two. Suigetsu didn't even get close as Kiba used his Tsuga to intercept him. Sakura was broken out of her daze by the two combatants and took her place next to Kiba's right with Akamaru on his left. "You want him, you"ll have to go through us first!" declared Kiba

"Oh is that it? A feral boy, his dog and a pink princess, that's a walk in the park."

The implications of Naruto's passing words struck home, Sakura's eyes began to water, "I won't let you touch him!" She ran head first, straight at Suigetsu. All he did was smile, moving his sword into position thinking that she was an easy kill. But before he could take his first swing, Sakura jumped up and came down, hard, punching the ground. Her super strength annihilated the ground all-around her. Suigetsu was thrown off balance and jumped back to get better footing. Trees were uprooted and bedrock was shattered as the landscape went from a clam quiet clearing to a full-fledged war zone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Naruto flew through the trees steadily increasing his speed by using his chakra. Because of the speed at which he was traveling the forest was nothing but a green blur. As Naruto's muscles moved the memories in his head rose to the surface. He remembered the retrieval mission three years ago, the tactics used and the ultimate scarifies the team almost made. This time instead of Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, Himself and Kiba and Akamaru, the team was Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru, Shino, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-sensei, Sai, and Sakura. Unlike last time, the odds were not stacked against them with Genin versus Jounin. Everyone was stronger then three years ago. But Naruto knew that it wouldn't be any easier, perhaps even harder. If those three other fighters were picked by Sasuke to be on his team then they must be strong. Last time they had extremely close to dieing. He hoped there wouldn't be any repeat performances. Naruto snapped out of his musing when he lost Sasuke's chakra signature. _Oh shit were did he go?! I can't even sense him! I wasn't that far behind him! Wait genjutsu!_ Naruto put his hands into the correct seal position, "Kai". The genjutsu faded away to Naruto's relief. He quickly had to duck as a blade attempted to slice his head off. While ducking Naruto drew two kunai from his leg holster and tossed them behind him in the direction of the sword. His efforts were rewarded with a metallic clang as one kunai hit the mark.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" Naruto had dropped down on to a branch but had to vacate his position as a huge fireball incinerated the entire tree he had just touched. Naruto recovered, landing on all fours, quickly turned around to find his target standing in front of him: Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes still showed no emotion as he stared at naruto. Deciding to break the ice Naruto spoke first, "Fancy meeting you here. Where were you off to in such a hurry?"

Naruto wasn't really expecting an answer but got one none the less. Sasuke said, "Simple I was going..."

"...to kill Itachi Uchiha, correct?" Naruto finished for him.

Sasuke's eyes almost unperceivable widened at this revelation, "How did you know?"

"It was simple really, after hearing that you killed Orochimaru we theorized that you would go to achieve your only goal to kill your brother." Answered Naruto

"Then why are you here? You know this is not your affair."

"Yeah right. We were dispatched to kill Itachi in the hopes that you would come to your senses and return to Konoha."

"You Naruto are far too weak to even look at Itachi."

A smirk developed on Naruto's face, "Then why, almighty Sasuke, did you stop to look at a weakling such as me?"

"Simple if I kill you, the one who I once considered my best friend to achieve the Mangekyo Sharingan. That will level the battle field with the killer of the Uchiha clan."

Naruto bowed his head and growled out his response, "Only thinking about yourself and how to achieve more power. So that's what you have become Sasuke. Some ninjas of Konoha are beginning to doubt if it is even worth trying to get you to return home."

"What do you believe dobe? Have you finally come to your senses? Do you realize that you can't compete with me, can't stop me and can't make me return?"

Although Sasuke couldn't see it, Naruto had a slight smirk on his face, "Ha, I made a promise to Sakura to bring you back. If you once considered me your brother then you should know that I never go back on my word regardless of the cost."

"That village raises nothing but weaklings, and even if Itachi was dead I would never return."

"We shall see Sasuke, we shall see." Naruto lifted his head up. A mask of determination was plastered on his face. He shifted into a battle stance. Sasuke mirrored his movements. The boys leapt at each other with kunai and sword in hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well once again cliff. Anyway the next two chapters should wrap up everything. Read and review plz

Later


End file.
